


Down This Unfamiliar Road

by Tanista



Series: Second Chances [31]
Category: MacGyver (TV 1985)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Assassins & Hitmen, Breakfast, Gen, Relationship Issues, Uncle-Niece Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 06:10:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14158503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanista/pseuds/Tanista
Summary: Mac tells Nikki he doesn't have a home. Becky begs to differ.





	Down This Unfamiliar Road

**Author's Note:**

> Follows after both "At thy will" and "this blood is not your own".

"So the three of you had a fight. Can't say I'm all that surprised, really. Bound to happen sooner or later, the way you guys carry on."

Los Angeles. Sunday morning. Breakfast on a balcony with a fairly decent view of the Pacific, which is currently living up to its name. Interesting how after years in landlocked Minnesota they both instinctively wanted to live by the the ocean.

Becky cheerfully tries her hand at pancakes, which he has to concede aren't half bad (if somewhat lopsided).

Almost reminds MacGyver of Sunday brunches in Texas. Gives him a slight tug of remorse in the gut.

But only very slight.

"I'm surprised we lasted this long myself," he admits to Becky. "Everything was fine when Murdoc and I did all that globetrotting while Jack held down the fort. But now things are changing. Murdoc wants to retire."

"So I heard."

"Ashton told you?"

"Murdoc himself, actually. We're kinda accidental pen pals now."

"How'd that come about?"

"He wanted some advice. Somehow he got it in his head I'd look favorably upon his doing away with the guys who almost drowned me that first winter."

He frowns in thought. "Tollefsen and Saperson, right. That's why he was asking me about them. So did he follow through?"

"Apparently not. Seems he suddenly didn't have the heart for it. Thank god. Like I'd ever want the deaths of those two on my conscience. The idea turns my stomach, which is why I'll never join the family business. No offense."

"None taken." He's secretly very proud of her. Only his brave princess would think to become a spy without using a gun. Only she would believe there must be an alternative to playing the Great Game like everybody else.

Only his own Becky.

"So Murdoc wants to retire from the assassination business, go seeking a change of pace? Pretty brave of him, if you ask me."

He snorts. "Taking the coward's way out, more like. He always told me being an assassin's a kill-or-be-killed occupation. Nobody can withdraw from the Game so easily once they enter into it, unless it's in a body bag."

"I'll keep that in mind," she says dryly. "Kudos for him giving it a try, at the very least. But I don't get how this affects your relationship with him. Or with Jack, for that matter."

The orange juice suddenly has a bitter taste in his mouth. He has to force himself not to smash the glass to the tiled floor in anger. Instead he sets it carefully down and settles for heading through the French doors and restlessly pacing around her compact living room.

"C'mon Unc, tell me. What's got you so bothered by all this?"

"You don't understand. If Murdoc's no longer a stone-cold killer, then why the hell would he want to hang around someone who's broken like me? I can't be fixed so easily. I'm better off without him for this gig. Jack, too."

"You don't mean that."

"Wanna bet?" he growls. He turns on her, fists clenched at his sides. Instead of cringing away she meets his intense stare with one of her own.

(There's steel behind the guileless blue eyes he's never seen before. Fearless. God, what an amazing young woman she's become.)

"First of all, you're not broken." Taming the wild animal, her voice soft and smooth. His anger dissipates, as it always does around her. "Nor are you better off by yourself. We're family, and I love you more than anyone else, and always will. Besides, if you were broken we wouldn't still have this connection, now would we?"

He's the first to drop his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck. "No, I guess not," he says sheepishly.

"Second, Jack's loved you since forever. He'd fly to the ends of the earth for you if he had to. And Murdoc? Ever since he swanned his way into our lives back in Mission City he's been nuts about you. Has it ever occurred to you he might be retiring for your sake? Or did you even stick around to hear his side of the story?"

"Well, no. Not exactly. I just kinda split." Damn, that feeling of remorse is tugging harder at his gut now.

"Without giving them a chance to explain themselves? Unc, even for you that's really cruel."

He nods reluctant agreement. "Guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Becky sighs. "What am I gonna do with you, huh?"

He shrugs, helplessly. "Dunno, Beck."

"That was a rhetorical question," she notes dryly. "You said you got in Friday; why didn't you at least give me a call so I could pick you up at the airport?"

"Had to check in with Nikki Carpenter first." He can't help the flush forming on his cheeks at the memory of that passionate encounter; only around Becky these days does he seem to wear his heart on his sleeve so much. "She's offered me a job with the Phoenix Foundation. Taking Murdoc's place."

"Nikki, huh? Well, tell her I said hi, next time you see her. If she offers you a place to stay short-term, be sure to mention you're already got somewhere else in mind."

"Where?"

She spreads her hands wide. "Here, of course. You have to admit my couch is pretty comfy since you crashed there last night. And you'd have the place to yourself, most times."

"Becky, I couldn't impose--"

"Yes, you could. And you will. Because I'm here for you, as you've been for me all these years." She steps closer, placing a calming hand on his arm. "Remember how it was between the two of us, back in Minnesota? They say home is where the heart is, and for me my heart was with you. Always. Didn't you feel the same?"

His calloused fingers tenderly cup her cheek. "Of course I did, Becky," he admits softly. "I always have. I still do. You're everything to me."

She reaches to touch his face, threading through his hair. He leans into the caress, closing his eyes. "As you are to me, Uncle Mac. I don't mind sharing you with Jack and Murdoc. I really don't. 'Cause take it from me, you need all the love you can get. You'd be a fool if you let them slip away like that."

Irrefutable Becky logic, as Murdoc might say. "Okay, you win. I'll give them a call tonight. Give us all a bit more cooling-off time."

She grins. "That's my clever knight. In the meantime, why don't you come with me to the farmer's market? Seems like they grow everything under the sun in this climate, varieties I've never seen before. Then afterwards we'll have lunch and take a walk on the beach, and there's this great seafood restaurant a couple blocks over from here for dinner. And after your phone call we'll pop in a movie and have some quality cuddle time..."

MacGyver finds himself falling under his niece's gentle spell as she weaves a perfect day for them, pleasant and tranquil. No killing, no real-life drama. Fine with him for now.

Despite what he feels for Nikki or anyone else, there's more to his relationships than mere sex and violence. Becky's living proof of that, her kindness and love constantly accompanying him on whatever unfamiliar paths his life may yet take.

Home is where the heart is, indeed. He has a home with her, in his heart. And right now that's more than enough.

 


End file.
